[1]Tyler T. Voie, in green stripes, faces a judge in Lewis County Superior Court
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – A high school student from Winlock is being held on $150,000 bail following an investigation that began in mid-December when police were summoned to Winlock Middle School and advised a female student there had received a sexually explicit snap chat message from him.
The girl told an officer the electronic conversation had occurred in conjunction with a 11-year-old girl, saying Tyler T. Voie had engaged in sexual intercourse with the 11-year-old, something the 11-year-old denied, according to charging documents in Voie’s case.
However, the officer spoke also with a now-14-year-old girl who stated she and Voie dated in early 2016 and during that time they had sex five times, the documents allege. Voie would have been 16 years old and she would have been 12.
In follow up investigation, the 11-year-old’s mother called police and said Voie and her daughter did engage in sex at the end of November when he was at their home watching television with her daughter in a bedroom, according to court documents.
When an officer spoke with Voie, about the girl who said they had dated, he allegedly admitted to once being intimate with the girl, believing she was 13 and he was 17 at the time, but did not think the age between them to be an issue, Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Sara Beigh wrote in charging documents.
Voie turned 18 years old in September. He was arrested on Saturday and booked into the Lewis County Jail.
He was charged yesterday in Lewis County Superior Court with one count of fist-degree rape of a child and five counts of second-degree rape of a child. Both offenses have a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Joel DeFazio asked a judge yesterday afternoon to set bail at $150,000, citing a public safety concern.
Temporary defense attorney Rachael Tiller asked that he be put on house arrest, noting he is a high school student who lives with his mother.
Judge Joely O’Rourke ordered that Voie be held on $150,000 bail, that he have no contact with minors and have no electronic devices.
His arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 11.